NFL, Chicago Bears continue stadium talks with Illinois lawmakers ahead of veto session

Why Ben Johnson is elite in primetime games; Super Bowl or Bust for Bears? | Chicago Sports Tonight Sam Panayotovich is joined by The Score’s Matt Spiegel. They discuss the Bears ceiling this season; is it Super Bowl or bust? Also, why has Ben Johnson been elite in primetime games as an offensive coordinator and head coach? Plus, is Sunday a must-win game for the Bears? The Brief The Chicago Bears stadium saga continues. The Bears, NFL Commissioner and Illinois lawmakers met this week. Their efforts come as the fall veto session approaches later in November. The Chicago Bears' stadium saga continued this week, as the franchise met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Illinois lawmakers to discuss a new stadium in Illinois as Illinois lawmakers' fall veto session approaches. What they're saying: The Bears remain committed to working with the state of Indiana to advance plans in Northwest Indiana. They made as much clear in a statement on Friday. "The Chicago Bears remain committed to building a world-class stadium and mixed-use district for our fans, the Chicagoland community and the team," the Bears said in a statement. "We continue to work collaboratively with local and state leaders in Indiana to advance our stadium development plans in Hammond, where we are finalizing due diligence details across two sites in the Wolf Lake area." However, the Bears, NFL and Illinois lawmakers have met this week, according to ESPN and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This is the second time since August about a stadium in Illinois, either in Chicago or in the suburbs. In August, minority owner Pat Ryan was involved in the meetings. This week, Bears chairman George McCaskey and CEO Kevin Warren met with Goodell and Illinois lawmakers. This continues the ongoing adventure that's close to becoming a six-year saga with plenty of pivots and turns. "We appreciate the recent engagement from Illinois leadership to explore legislation which has allowed us to share our feedback," the Bears said in a written statement. What's next: These meetings come ahead of the Illinois fall veto session, which begins on Nov. 17. This legislative session will focus on crafting a bill to present to the Bears, which would keep them in Illinois. "It's part of a continuing endeavor to try to make sure we've got legislation ready to go for the veto session," Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said on Friday. "We want to make sure the legislation is ready for people to look at." ritzker was in Hyde Park on Friday, and discussed a potential timeline for a bill for the first time. According to Pritzker, the meeting finalized Stadium Authority legislation. This will have it ready for the start of the fall veto session, with a plan to hold hearings when the session opens in November. He also said a potential vote would come the first week of December. "We expect productive dialogue with both leadership teams in the coming weeks," the Bears said in a statement. "We have a responsibility and obligation to explore every option available to the club, and we look forward to developing a transformational project that will attract global events and deliver jobs and economic growth to all of Chicagoland." The Source: Information is from ESPN reporting, the Chicago Bears and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Bears Sports